Queen Catherine's Last Card
by tudorregina1993
Summary: Queen Catherine of Aragon of England is in peril. Her husband of more than 20 years, Henry VIII wants to divorce her and cast her aside so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Her only daughter, Princess Mary, is to be declared a bastard and unfit to inherit the t
1. Chapter 1

Queen Katherine of Aragon of England is in peril. Her husband of more than 20 years, Henry VIII wants to divorce her and cast her aside so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Her only daughter, Princess Mary, is to be declared a bastard and unfit to inherit the throne, should the king get the divorce he wants. And to top it all off, the people, including her husband, believe that because of her miscarriages and her old age, she can't bear any more children. But what if she can bear children? She is only 37 years is the story of how Katherine of Aragon regained the love of her husband by giving him the one thing he craved above all things: A son.

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As she watched her husband ride out with his whore without even saying goodbye, Katherine of Aragon thinks about what she can do to win him back. She called for her physician to examine her womb to see if she can still bear children. The doctor examines her and says, "My lady, you are still capable of bearing children. You are still young" The queen was suprised. Many doctors claimed that she was infertile. "But doctor, how is it possible? I thought I couldn't anymore." The doctor looked at her sadly and said, "My Queen, I'm afraid that these doctors deceived you. They are under the influence of the Boleyns. My assistant overheard a conversation between the Earl of Wiltshire and Lord Rochford. They bribe the king's doctors so they can proclaim that you can't bear children. Since the King believes every word they say, naturally, he won't question it. I hope this information will help Your Majesty as I am a supporter of your cause". The Queen was silent for a while. Those Boleyn monsters! She thought, this has gone too far. She has to stop this madness before it's too late, for her sake, and especially, for her husband and daughter's sake. "Thank you doctor, for giving me this information. I am grateful. You may leave".

The doctor gave a small smile and bowed. As he left, Katherine started thinking. How can I convince my husband that I can bear children so he will leave the Boleyn whore? She called for her trusted lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour. "Jane, tell Ambassador Chapuys I need to see him" "Yes, Your Majesty" Jane curtsied and left the room. Less than 5 minutes passed and the ambassador arrived. "Your Majesty" he gave a very low bow and kissed the Queen's hand. "Eustace, please sit down. I have something important I need to discuss with you." Chapuys sat down and waited for Katherine to speak. "As you know, Eustace, my husband has left with his whore on progress." The ambassador nodded. "I had my physician check to see if I could still bear children, and he said yes. He told me that the other doctors and physicians that serve his majesty are bribed by the Boleyns to lie so the king's mind can be further poisoned against me and my daughter." The ambassador was speechless. He knew the Boleyns were ambitious but he never thought they would go to such an extreme as lying to the King and even bribing the King's own physicians to lie as well. "What do you intend to do, My Lady?" Katherine looked at him sadly. "I honestly, don't know Eustace. How can I convince the King when he only listens to the whore and her family? He won't believe me if I tell him." "Well, Your Majesty, you could try to, charm the King".

Now, it was Catherine's turn to be shocked. How can a pious and Christian woman like her stoop so low? She will not act like the whore Anne Boleyn "How dare you, Chapuys? You mean to say, that I, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, should resort to the tricks by prostitutes and that whore Boleyn girl? The ambassador fell to his knees, pleading. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I did not mean to use the whore's tricks to win him back. I didn't say to seduce him I mean that you could charm him, use the same charm that you used when you arrived in England from Spain as a young girl. I heard that the King, when he was a young prince, wanted you to marry him instead of his brother. Your sweet demeanor and piety is a great contrast to the goggle-eyed whore's sharp tongue" Catherine thought of this and realized that Chapuys was right. If she could charm Henry when he was only 10, she could still charm him now that he is 31. "You are right, Eustace. Thank you for your advice. I believe it will help me most greatly Now, if you will excuse me, I must prepare." Chapuys smiled. "I wish you luck, my queen. God bless you" He bowed and left. "Jane, tell the other ladies to get my things, I am going to visit my husband"


	2. Chapter 2

Catherine rode with her servants to where the King was, at Hatfield Palace. She knew that she was going to encounter a furious Henry and the whore, but she didn't care. She was a woman on a quest, and with God's help, she knew that she would succeed or die trying. When she arrived, she got down off her horse, Preciosa, and holding her head high, entered the palace. The King's servants were shocked, didn't the king left the queen for good? The King's groom went to Catherine and bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, we didn't expect you here, forgive me". Catherine smiled, "It's all right Brereton, I wanted no fuss over me. Where is the King?" "The King is out in the garden with the Lady Anne Boleyn, Your Majesty" Brereton looked down sadly. If Catherine was upset, she didn't show it. She smiled at Brereton. "Very well, I am going to see him. Thank you for your help, William. You may tell my servants where to put my belongings. I'll be here as long as the King is here, after all I am his wife." William smiled and bowed and took the hand of his beloved queen and kissed it. "God bless you, My Queen" and he went outside to the the Queen's litter. Catherine breathed deeply and went to the gardens. She knew what was going to happen: Henry screaming his head off and asking why she was there, and the whore shocked but then smiling because of the King's yelling. She felt prepared and entered the gardens

She could foretell the future, or maybe it was that she knew her husband well. As soon as he saw her, Henry yelled. "Catherine! What in God's name are you doing here?" he was fuming. Catherine only smiled and curtsied. "My husband, I came to see you. I was wondering why you left without saying goodbye" Anne came and stood beside Henry. "Isn't it obvious, Lady Catherine?" The whore said with a smug smile. "The King doesn't love you anymore. You are just an old crone with an ugly bastard daughter." Catherine wanted to slap her. She didn't care if the whore insulted her, but it was another matter where her daughter, her precious Mary, was concerned. She walked with a sure step and footing towards Anne. Catherine may have been shorter than Anne, but with her furious gaze directed towards the whore, she saw Anne shrink a little. "You should be careful of what you say, Lady Anne. That sharp tongue of yours could get you into trouble someday. Your husband would not like it. I doubt you will ever get married". Anne opened her mouth in shock. Catherine maintained a calm composure but she wanted to smirk at that whore. Did she really think that she won? Henry grabbed Anne and put her behind him and glared at Catherine. "I would marry her, if you would acknowledge our marriage is broken and that you can't bear anymore children, madam. You are no longer capable of bearing sons, Catherine." Catherine looked at him with a challenging look. "Do you really believe that, Henry?" Henry looked confused. "After all, I am only 37 years old. I may be not as young as before but I am certainly not old." It was obvious that Henry was contemplating Catherine's words. His physicians deceived him? No, he couldn't believe that, but Catherine had a point. She was not young but not old either. But she definitely looked old, but he can still see the young girl he fell in love with when he was 10. He didn't know what to believe. "Catherine, how can you be so certain that you can still bear children" She gave him a small smile. Anne stepped forward. "Your Majesty, how can you believe her?" She started screaming. "She lied to you about being a virgin, and she is obviously lying to you again! Don't be a fool!" Catherine looked at her shocked. "Dios mio. Do you really want to marry her, Henry? I believe that tongue of hers won't keep quiet after the marriage." Anne raised her hand to slap Catherine but Henry grabbed Anne's arm and looked at her with a menacing look that made her flinch. "Enough Lady Anne! You will go into the house and move your things to another chamber. The Queen shall have your rooms" Anne was furious and pulled away from him. "How can you do this to me, Henry? Think about all the sons I will-" "Silence! I am the King of England, and you will do as I say! Remember your place, Lady Anne!" Henry yelled. Anne looked and curtsied, "Your Majesty" and she left the gardens. Henry looked at Catherine with a remorseful look. "I"m sorry about that, Catherine." "It's all right, Henry. No harm done" Catherine smiled. "Now tell me, what is this story that you can still bear children?" Both sat down on a bench. "Well Henry, after you left this morning without saying goodbye" "I am sorry for that Catherine-" But Catherine put her hand up to quiet Henry. "Like I said, it's all right. Now after you left, I called my personal physician to see if I was still capable of bearing children." Henry nodded, which Catherine took it as a sign to continue. "After he examined, he concluded that I was still fertile" Henry had his mouth open and he stood up, fuming. "How is it possible? My own physicians told me that you were incapable of bearing sons!" Catherine went and with her hand touched Henry's face. His skin was warm and she sighed at the feel and warmth of his young face. Henry looked at her with a questioning look but eventually warmed up to her and gave her a small smile. "Those physicians were bribed, my husband" Henry narrowed his eyes. "Who dared to bribe them?" "The Boleyns."


End file.
